A Day at the Stable
by Wicked Eponine 2010
Summary: Story about the characters from That's So Raven, Lizzie McGuire and Phil of the Future coming to ride at my ranch Rocking Horse Ranch and the stuff that happens. Please R&R!
1. The Email

Chapter 1: The Email 

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in June. My husband, Jeff and I were feeding were feeding our stable full of horses on our southern California ranch, the Rocking Horse. Foxy, my beautiful bay Arabian mare, put her head over her stall and nickered as I passed by with a horse named Conn's grain.

"I'll get you next, Fox," I told the mare.

It was after we fed the horses and I was checking my email. _Junk, junk and more junk _I thought to myself. Than an email caught my eye. It was from a girl named Raven. This is what it said:

_Dear Mrs. Smith,_

_My name is Raven Baxter and you might have seen me on the hit Disney Channel show, "That's So Raven." Anywho, I was wondering if I could bring a bunch of my friends horseback riding, if that wouldn't be too much trouble; none of us have anything to do today. There is going to be eight of us coming, myself included. Please email me back if we can come._

_Take care,_

_From,_

_Raven_

I emailed her back and said:

_Raven,_

OMG! I watched your show, "That's So Raven" all the time when I was eighteen. Of course, you and your friends can come riding, but all of you need to bring the following:

A pair of riding boots – no sneakers or sandals. Rain boots would be perfect.

A riding helmet – if you don't have your own, I have plenty

And

A sack lunch.

My only open slot for riding is two o'clock. Is that okay? Email me back soon so that I can prepare your horses. One last question: What are your friends names?

Hope to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Sara Smith

Five minutes later, I got an email from Raven.

Mrs. Smith,

I'm glad that you watched "That's So Raven." All of us have rain boots, but we don't have helmets. We're going to stop for lunch on the way. Two o'clock sounds great! This is everybody that's coming:

Chelsea Daniels

Eddie Thomas

Lizzie McGuire

David "Gordo" Gordon

Miranda Sanchez

Phil Diffy

Keeley Adams

And myself.

Hope to see you soon!

From,

Raven

I logged off my email and went to get horses ready.

"Jeff, I need some help getting horses ready," I yelled to him. He was sitting in the den, watching TV. He quickly turned off the TV and followed me to the barn.

"Which horses do we need to get ready?" he asked.

"Foxy, Melody, Gunny, Pudgi, Conn, Chum, Splash, Magic, CJ and Tzer," I named ten of the safest horses I owned.

"Why are we saddling up ten horses? I thought there were eight riders," said Jeff.

"Because, pookie we are going to be riding, too," I said as I saddled up Foxy.

"Which tack is going on which horse?" asked Jeff, heading towards the tack room.

"Foxy, Gunny, Pudgi, Conn, Magic and CJ get English tack and Melody, Chum, Splash and Tzer get Western tack. Got it?" I snapped.

"Okay, okay. Settle down," Jeff yelled from inside the tack room. He emerged with Melody's Western tack. He tacked her up and led her to the corral fence. He snapped a lead rope to her halter. After he did that, he tacked up Chum, Splash and Tzer and led them to the corral fence as well. Melody nickered when she saw her friends coming her way. She nipped Chum's shoulder and got a slap from Jeff instead. Ten minutes later, the horses were waiting for their riders to come.


	2. The Arrival of the Characters

Chapter 2: The Arrival of the Characters

Five minutes later, a long black limo pulled up to the entrance of the Rocking Horse Ranch. Eight kids got out and looked around. I went up to a girl with long black hair and said,

"Hi. Are you Raven?" The girl turned around and said,

"Yup. Are you Mrs. Smith?"

"Yes I am and please call me Sara," I said. Jeff walked up beside me and cleared his throat.

"This is my husband, Jeff. Jeff, this is Raven Baxter," Jeff extended his hand. Raven took it and took it loosely in her hand. She turned to the people leaning against the limo and said,

"Now when I call your name, step forward and move to your left. Chelsea Daniels!" A girl with red hair stepped forward and moved to her left.

"Eddie Thomas!" yelled Raven. A boy with a 'fro stepped forward and moved next to Chelsea.

"Miranda Sanchez!" exclaimed Raven. A girl with feathers in her hair and purple rain boots on her feet stepped forward and moved next to Chelsea and Eddie.

"Lizzie McGuire!" said Raven. A girl with blond hair and big blue eyes stepped forward and walked over next to Miranda.

"Gordo Gordon," said Raven. A boy with curly brown hair stepped forward and walked next to Miranda and Lizzie.

"Phil Diffy!" yelled Raven. A boy with spiky black hair stepped forward and stood next to Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda.

"Keeley Adams!" exclaimed Raven. A girl with blond braids stepped forward and made her way over to Phil. I smiled at everyone and Lizzie, Gordo, Miranda, Chelsea, Keeley, Eddie and Phil smiled back.

"All right, people. This is Sara and Jeff Smith. They were kind to take time out of their busy schedules to make time for us...Yes, Lizzie," said Raven. Lizzie had her hand up.

"When are we going to ride?" she asked.

"Soon," I replied.

"Good," she said shortly.

"Mrs. Smith, do you want to go over the ground rules?" asked Raven.

"Uh, sure. Number one, treat the horses well. Number two, whoever's riding Conn, he tends to kick, so watch out for that. Number three, have fun!" We headed down to the corral to meet the horses, Phil, Raven, Eddie, Chelsea, Gordo, Lizzie, Keeley and Miranda talking excitedly all the way there.


	3. Introducing the Horses

Chapter Three: Introducing the Horses

We arrived at the corral three minutes later. I held Jeff's hand in mine as we walked. I heard Chelsea say to Eddie,

"Isn't that sweet? It's puppy love,"

"Yeah, you got that right," responded Eddie.

I went to the corral fence and said,

"All right. These are your horse assignments: Raven you're riding Foxy. Eddie you're riding Melody. Chelsea you're riding Gunny. Miranda you're riding Pudgi. Lizzie you're riding Conn. Gordo you're riding Chum. Phil you're riding Splash. Keeley you're riding Magic. Jeff and I are going along as well and we'll be riding CJ and Tzer. Any questions?"

"Are you going to help us with our horses?" asked Lizzie.

"Yup. Conn is the big white guy. We'll ride soon, don't worry,"

"Whose Melody?" asked Eddie.

"She's the big black mare," replied Jeff. He guided Eddie towards Melody. Eddie stared up at Melody, a look of awe on his face.

Once everyone had his or her horses, I showed them where I kept the helmets and showed them how to get on their horses. The other kids asked about their horses and either Jeff or I introduced the riders to their horses.

"This is the order that we're going in: Me, Lizzie, Gordo, Raven, Miranda, Phil, Eddie, Jeff, Chelsea and Keeley. Let's go!" all of us mounted our horses and were off on a ride through the forests that surrounded my property.


	4. We Ride

Chapter Four: We Ride

We rode in silence for a while before I heard:

"Miracles happen

Once in a while

If you believe

You showed me dreams come to light  
That takin a chance on us was right  
All things will come with a little time  
When you believe" I turned around in my saddle and looked behind me. Lizzie, Gordo, Raven, Phil and Eddie had started singing "Miracles Happen" from Princess Diaries 1. When it got silent, I said,

"Are you ready to trot?"

"Yeah!" replied Lizzie, Gordo, Raven, Phil, Eddie, Jeff, Chelsea and Keeley.

"All right then. Squeeze your horse's sides and ask them to trot!" I said. I squeezed CJ into his cute little Mustang trot. I heard Conn snorting excitedly from behind us. Once we got a little further, I slowed CJ to a walk and then a halt.

"Do you guys want to canter?" I asked.

"Sure," came a reply from everyone.

"All right. Watch out for holes. Follow the horse in front of you. Don't get too close to the horse in front. Relax and holler if you want to walk," I yelled to the kids. I squeezed CJ into a canter and heard Conn's powerful hooves from behind me. I heard Lizzie laughing, which meant she was having a grand time. Ten minutes later, I slowed CJ into a walk. He was getting sweaty which meant that he was getting tired. I had him stop and I turned around in my saddle.

"How about we head for home. The horses are getting tired, so we'll just walk them back," I hollered at the kids.

"Fine with me," came a reply from a few.

"Sounds good," some chimed in.

We arrived at the ranch a few minutes later. I dismounted CJ and tied him up on the corral fence. I was untacking him when Lizzie, Gordo, Raven, Phil, Eddie, Jeff, Chelsea and Keeley rode up.

"Okay guys. Untack them and put them in their stalls. All of you were wonderful. Thanks for coming to Rocking Horse Ranch," as each of them took care of their horse, Jeff and I handed out pictures of the horse that the stars rode. Lizzie's eyes welled up with tears when I handed her a picture of Conn.

"He's my favorite horse in the entire world," said Lizzie.

"He's mine, too," I replied.


	5. Later That Evening

Chapter Five: Later That Evening

It was later that evening and Jeff and I were drinking tea at the kitchen table, looking at what our day looked like tomorrow.

"We have the vet coming at three to look at Panther's foal," said Jeff. Our prize mare, Panther's Special Gift, a pure black Thoroughbred, had given birth to a small pure chestnut filly a few days ago that we named Lass. When Lass was born, her knees were bent inward a little bit, which is bad for a foal.

"What else have we got going on tomorrow?" I asked.

"Well, Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda are coming for their lesson at four," said Jeff.

"They are?" I said in a confused voice.

"Yeah. This is their summer break and they signed up for horseback riding tomorrow. Which horses are available tomorrow?" said Jeff.

"How about Ginger, Zeke and Mississippi," I said smiling at him.

"Sounds good. Which horse for which rider?" asked Jeff.

"Ginger for Lizzie, Zeke for Gordo and Missi for Miranda," I replied.

"Okay. See you in the morning," said Jeff.

"Are you going to check on the horses?" I asked.

"Yup. I'll also check on Applesauce's bite. I hope it isn't too bad," said Jeff.

"Okay. Tell Applesauce that I said hi and give her a pat for me,"

"Will do," said Jeff as he headed out the door.


	6. The Surprise Riders

Chapter Six: The Surprise Riders

It was the next day and the vet, Dr. Applebee, Jeff and I were in Panther's stall, looking at Lass. I held Panther's halter firmly as the vet checked her filly's knees. A moment later, the vet rose from her inspection of Lass' knees. She shook her head sadly.

"What is it, Lisa?" asked Jeff.

"There's no way this filly's going to get around with her knees bent inward like that. If she does, it'll hurt her to move. If you want me to, I can put her down for you to save you folks trouble. I'll go get my syringe out of the truck while you two think about it," the vet exited the stall and turned to the right.

"Jeff, Lisa's right. It's not fair to see Lass suffer," I said, tears coming to my eyes. Jeff kissed my forehead and squeezed my hand.

"We know what's best for Lass," he replied. The vet returned with a syringe in her hand.

"Are you guys ready?" she asked.

"Yes. But let's have Panther and Lass have one last moment together," said Jeff, his voice cracking. I let go of Panther's halter and she ambled forward to where her filly was. She lowered her head and nickered gently to her filly. Lass gave a weak nicker and bobbed her head up and down.

"You two better stay out here," said the vet. She went into the stall, talking gently to Panther. She stuck the syringe in a vein in Lass' neck and injected it.

"It won't be long now," said the vet. I was sobbing hysterically into Jeff's chest. He put a comforting arm around me and stroked my hair. I couldn't hear little Lass' breathing anymore or hear her rustling in the straw. Panther nickered gently and nudged her little filly. This scene reminded me of The Lion King when Mufassa died and how Simba nudged his dad, telling him to get up. Mufassa laid motionless, just like Lass did.

"Hello?" came Lizzie's voice from the entranceway to the barn.

"Yo! Anybody home?" asked Gordo.

"Mrs. Smith, where are you?" this had to be Miranda talking.

"Go, I'll be okay here," said Jeff. I made my way past horse's stalls. I didn't stop walking until I saw Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda.

"Hey guys! I haven't seen you three in a while," I said, my voice shaking.

"Uh, Mrs. S, are you okay?" asked Lizzie.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, tears welling up in my eyes.

"Are you okay?" asked Miranda.

"Yeah, I'll be okay," I said, trying not to cry.

"If you're that happy to see us, why didn't you tell us?" asked Gordo.

"Your mounts for today are: Lizzie – Ginger. Gordo – Zeke and Miranda – Missi. Go get them tacked up and I'll help you guys if you want me to," I was headed for my barn office when Lizzie called out,

"Where's Conn?"

"He's in his stall. He needs a break," I told her.

"Oh. Could I ride him instead?" asked Lizzie.

"No. I want you to ride Ginger today. She's a good mare," I replied.

"Okay," said Lizzie and she, along with Gordo and Miranda went to tack up their horses. Fifteen minutes later, Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda had Ginger, Zeke and Missi tacked up. Lizzie and Miranda had decided to ride English, while Gordo rode Western.

It was an hour later and Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda were untacking Ginger, Zeke and Missi. They were talking about the lesson and how much fun they had riding different horses. I beamed with pride to know that famous TV stars liked riding my horses as much as Jeff and I did.


	7. The Conclusion

Chapter Seven: The Conclusion

It was a year later and Jeff was teaching our year-old daughter, Suzie, how to ride her pure blood bay Welsh Pony gelding, Revue. He was leading Revue around the corral, talking to Suzie to make sure she understood what was going on. As for me, I was leaning over the fence, getting this on video. When Suzie saw me, she waved at the camera and pointed to Revue, happily. Revue pricked his ears up and whinnied.

"Show – off," I muttered under my breath. I looked down at my swelled belly. The doctor told me that my baby was going to be due in late-September, early October. Jeff and I decided that if the baby was a girl, we would name her Lizzie, and if it was a boy, Phil, after the caring TV stars that came to my ranch to spend the entire day around the horses.

Well, that's the end of the story!

Hope you enjoyed it!

SED


End file.
